Jaune Arc: Dragonborn
by Fireballmonkey
Summary: Jaune's entire village was burned to the ground. He was the only survivor. Before he fled, his grandfather had told him one of the greatest secrets in all of mankind, and unlocked something within him that few even knew existed. After a strange man finds him, he'll go on a journey to rid Remnant of its greatest threat, Dragons.
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Skyrim or RWBY**

* * *

"You got this!"

 _BOOM!_

"I really don't fucking got this!"

"Sure you do! Just don't get burned."

 _FFWOOSH!_

"Or frozen..."

"You're not helping!"

A young blonde boy yelled as he ran from a giant, brown, winged lizard that alternated between breathing fire and ice at him as he ran around, dodging the breath attacks. He was currently up against a dragon. The young man quickly drew his bow with practiced speed and fired off a lightning Dust arrow. The beast recoiled and let out an angry roar as the arrow collided with its maw.

"Try that finishing move with the sword I taught you, Jaune!" Said a white haired man with reptilian pupils and green irises who looked about twenty. The man was dressed in a white, sleeveless parka, jeans and his feet were bare. He stood on a hill, overlooking his apprentice/nephew take on his fifth dragon this year.

"But I haven't even mastered that yet!" Jaune yelled before he ducked and rolled to avoid the dragon fly over him while breathing fire. "Ugh, fine!"

Jaune sheathed his bow and clasped his hands in front of his mouth like a megaphone. Jaune took a deep breath before shouting at the dragon, " **JOOR ZAH FRUL!** "

As his dragonrend shout hit its target, the legendary beast fell towards the ground and crashed through the snowy forest. It left a trail of displaced dirt and uprooted trees in its wake as it skidded to a stop in a small clearing. Jaune quickly ran toward the dragon, he climbed onto its writhing back as it tried in vain to get up. The young warrior unsheathed his trusty sword, Crocea Mors, and ran across its back to reach the dragons head. Thanks to his dragonrend, the dragon's very soul was anchored to the earth, and it was still groggy from its crash landing.

" _ **You have not won..there will always be more!**_ " The dragon yelled in its species' language while thrashing about, trying to shake the blonde boy off of him. As Jaune made it to its head, he hacked away at the monster's neck, his blade slicing through the tough dragon scales. He finally sliced through a major artery in the neck, the dragon's blood flowing out as the life drained from its eyes. Jaune stumbled off the monster, exhausted. He saw his uncle stroll over to him.

"See? I told you it would work." The older man said. He gestured toward the front of the creature's head. Jaune nodded and approached the dragon's front. The beast's skin started to disintegrate as its soul was absorbed into Jaune's being. He suddenly felt an enormous but familiar rush of energy overtake him...and then blast him backwards about ten feet, making him land flat on his ass. He heard chuckling as he got up and dusted himself off.

He checked his things to make sure nothing had been seriously damaged. His sword was fine, the blade was nearly indestructible, and one of the few things that could pierce a dragon's hide. He slid it back into the sheath he used in place of the original one that could transform into a shield. That was buried with his grandfather, the dragonborn before him. His bow was still in one piece. Nightingale was made out of a special metal called ebony, and, as Nocturnal had said, blessed with the heart of a daedra. The arrows were still in good shape, and he knew from experience that it was pointless trying to retrieve the ones he'd shot at the dragon. Those were either gone, stuck in the bone or had disintegrated along with most of the beast.

His knife, Grieving Widow, was still in good condition, the silver blade and curved hilt gleamed slightly in the early spring. It was built like a miniature scimitar, with a green gem embedded in the hilt. It could also mechashift into a 6-chamber single action revolver.

Lastly was his pistol, Dragon Song. The metal plating was colored indian red, with a grip carved out of dark walnut wood and plastic and the magazine fitted twelve 45 caliber bullets. When the button on the handle was pressed, it could transform into a tomahawk.

"Now, use the power, Jaune. Find the voice that will show you the way."

Jaune did as he asked. He concentrated, searching deep down to his soul. He sensed the new dragons soul that he'd absorbed. He reached out to it, grasping it, and welcomed the knowledge that flooded outward inside his body.

He took a stance, putting his hands over his mouth again and facing a large boulder in the clearing. " **FO KRAH DIIN!** " As he shouted, a torrent of icy wind, snow and ice rushed forward, enveloping the boulder in a sheet of blue ice. Jaune looked at what he'd done in awe, before his mentor chucked a pebble at the frozen rock and cracks started spider-webbing outward from the point of impact. The boulder fell apart into a pile of ice and rock.

The man turned to him, "You're getting better, Jaune. There are very few who have mastered the thu'um as fast as you. I don't think even the Greybeards from the old days had a member who learned so quick."

Jaune just shrugged.

The man sighed. Teenagers. "Well, we'd better be getting back home." Jaune nodded and stepped back as his mentor's body started to transform. His skin grew white and scaly, his body getting much bigger and longer. When the transformation was complete, Jaune stood before an enormous, white dragon.

"Climb on, kid." The dragon bellowed.

"Alright, Paarthurnax."

* * *

Jaune and Paarthurnax(back in his human form) walked through the bottom of a stone crevice that led to the center of Mount Vit. The entrance to their home was over 1000 kilometers from any kingdom and half that distance from any settlement.

Once they reached the end, they came to a forty foot tall set of double doors. The petrified maple wood was embroidered with solid gold that depicted etchings of dragons, human warriors, and men in hooded cloaks shouting at the beasts. Frost lined the edges of the doors, and the various scratches and dents all showed the doors' age.

The dragon placed a single hand on the doors and they slowly creaked open to reveal a grand hall with elegant stone walls, velvet rugs leading down the hall and branching out to various rooms, and torches lining the walls that warmed and lit the whole place in yellow light. A second story balcony lined the walls and lowered by a set of stairs that joined at the end of the hall.

As the doors quickly closed behind the pair, Jaune heard a very annoying voice cry out, "Oh! Our brave heroes have returned! Break out the tea, cheese and wenches to make our warriors feel nice and welcome." Jaune looked up toward the right balcony and frowned when he saw Sheogorath waving a handkerchief and blowing a horn. The mad god was then sent to the floor when a chunk of purple crystal was thrown from across the gap between the balconies, hitting him in the face. "Be quiet you imbecile! It's midnight!"

Sheogorath got up and waved to Azura, who was fuming as she went back to her quarters after summoning the gem back into her hands. Jaune just shook his head at the gods' antics. Paarthurnax stepped forward, "What is it, Sheogorath?"

The god in question leaned over the balcony railing until he fell off, flipping through the air and landing on his feet, unharmed.

"I merely wanted to give our champion a proper welcome home after a long day of drake hunting, Paarthy. You do not have to be so cold."

 _BONK!_

Paarthurnax him on the top of his head and yelled, "I told you never to call me that!"

"Alright, alright. Anyhow I just wanted to tell our champion here something." The mad god then snapped his fingers, and he and Paarthurnax were gone. Jaune's eyes widened when he realized what was happening.

Every few months or so, Sheogorath liked to 'keep Jaune vigilant and on his toes' by summoning various 'familiars'. The first time, it'd been just one man with a battle-ax...the next time it had been a pack of wolves. The time after that, it had been a pack of flaming wolves. The opponents kept getting tougher and stranger. Naturally, Jaune kept his guard up. He unsheathed Crocea Mors and Dragon Song in its melee weapon form.

Before he knew it, glowing, purple mist started swirling around the hall, before taking shape as three sabertooth cats. They were as tall as Jaune and ten feet long. Their fangs looked sharp as razors, just like their claws. And since they were purple, that meant they were charged up with some kind of crazy destruction magic.

The first monster ran at him, and Jaune sidestepped and slashed across its body. The boy had to recoil and ended up dropping his sword as arcs of violet lightening shot out from the wound as the beast died/vanished.

 _'Lightening enchanted sabertooths. Fuck all.'_

He spotted the mad god and Paarthurnax on the balcony, his mentor looked very annoyed at Sheogorath but didn't intervene. Jaune growled in annoyance before leveling his pistol.

He pulled the trigger, the handgun's recoil as strong as ever as the fire Dust bullet was launched forward and punched into the second beast. The resulting fire/lightening explosion made him shield his eyes. He switched Dragon Song back into its tomahawk form and drew Grieving Widow in his left hand.

As the last one charged, he rolled to the side and backward slashed his ax into its right hind leg, twirling as he swung and stood ready as the sabertooth recovered, limping slightly. He rushed forward, stabbing it in the throat before he leaped back to avoid getting swiped by the beasts claws.

This time, purple flames poured out from the neck wounds, but Jaune hadn't stabbed deep enough to do more than annoy the beast.

' _Can I not get one break?'_

It jumped at Jaune, but he ducked under and thrust his dagger up, the blade sticking into its flesh and slicing down the monster's midsection. The heat covered Jaune like a blanket, but it wasn't hot enough to cause injury. As its limp body crashed to the floor and vanished behind Jaune, he got up and retreived his sword.

Sheogorath clapped for Jaune's 'performance'. "Bravo! Brava! Well done, my boy."

Jaune quickly shot a round from Grieving Widow, which the prince of madness ducked to avoid. Paarthurnax hopped down to the floor and he and his apprentice walked to Jaune's room. They lived here in this sanctuary with Sheogorath and Azura, the hole complex protected and untouched from the centuries of change around it. The dragon and the Daedric princes had trained Jaune since he was ten. On occasion, they'd summon some other higher being like Nocturnal or Odahviing to help train the boy.

Stepping through the doorway, Jaune let out a tired sigh as he went to his desk and started stripping off his armor and weapons. He placed his white daedric gauntlets on the wooden desk along with the shin and chest plates. He put Crocea Mors and Grieving Widow alongside those and hung Nightingale on its rack. He then shed his black hoodie so that he was left in a grey t-shirt and jeans.

Jaune sat down and began disassembling and cleaning Dragon Song. He heard a knock on his doorframe, and turned to see Azura. She wore a midnight blue cloak and shawl with black shoes that made her nearly white skin seem even paler, if that was possible. Jaune supposed she always wore dark clothes to balance out her paleness, further expressing her role as Daedric prince of dusk and dawn, dark and light, et cetera.

After almost seven years, Jaune couldn't understand why the ones who took form as females were call princes. She and her sister, Nocturnal, didn't seem to care, though.

"Need something?"

Azura entered, "You seemed angry at Sheogorath earlier."

"Says the one who threw a soul gem at the prick." Jaune stood and leaned back on the top of his chair.

"I won't dignify that with a response. Sheogorath's prickery aside, you've been getting agitated more easily as of late. Is something troubling you?" Jaune shrugged. "I don't know. I might just be getting stir crazy. Its been, what, six weeks since I've talked to anyone who didn't live outside this place."

She nodded, "Yes, I sometimes forget how you humans need to interact with one another. I suppose you do need to be getting out more." She turned to leave, and Jaune went back to cleaning his pistol. After he'd cleaned and inspected all his weapons and armor, the boy lay down on his bed and sighed. He shut off the lights and threw his arm over his eyes as he laid down to sleep.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

"He needs to get out more. The boy is still human and needs other people to talk to besides me, a dragon and a mad idiot."

"Hey!" Sheogorath yelled indignantly as he reemerged from his room wearing a velvet robe and bunny slippers while smoking a two foot-long pipe. Azura wasn't surprised in the least. Paarthurnax chimed in, "What do you propose, Azura? Send him to a city, give him some money and let him run amuck?

"Why don't I take the boy? A god and a young warrior, traveling the world together. What could possibly go wrong?" They both turned to the mad god, looks of irritation and slight anger on their faces.

"Must I remind you what happened the last time you traveled the world? The whole Four Maidens Incident?"

"Oh, you give four hot women some elemental magic because they were nice to you while you were disguised as an old, lonely man and you never hear the end of it!"

"They could have destroyed half the world if we hadn't intervened and sworn them to secrecy!"

"And look how that turned out. Three of them are...What's the phrase? Ah, yes, MIA," Sheogorath retorted, "And that Amber girl or what ever her name is is in a coma and half her power was stolen..." The god blinked a few times, "...I now realize that that didn't help my case."

Then, Azura had an idea. "Paarthurnax, you're still in contacts with that Ozpin fellow, right?"

"Yes, but what does that-wait, you can't be considering _that_." Paarthurnax answered.

"Exactly. We can ask Ozpin to allow Jaune into his school. The boy can get a proper education, mingle with some mortals, have some actual friends." Azura said before drinking from her cup of tea.

"Not to mention get laid!" Sheogorath interjected, causing Azura to spit out her tea...onto Paarthurnax. After drying himself off, Paarthurnax thought Azura's words over. "I suppose Jaune would benefit from enrolling in a huntsman school. If he agrees, we'll have to train him even harder before the semester starts to make sure he's ready."

* * *

 **The next day...**

"Alright. I'll do it. I'll join Beacon." Jaune said as he sat in his room after mulling over what his mentors and Sheogorath had just told him.

"Splendid!" Sheogorath cried before Paarthurnax pushed him aside.

"Very well, Jaune. However, the school year starts in six months, so you'll be training harder than ever. Beacon is one of the best academies in the world, and the other students have probably trained even longer than you."

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Jaune got up, gathered his equipment and headed to the training room.

* * *

 **Six months later...**

"Well, Jaune, today's the day."

"Yep."

"You have everything you'll need?"

"Yep."

"Are you gonna say something besides 'yep'?"

"Yep."

Jaune and Paarthurnax stood at the Vale docks, in front of an airship that would take the new first year students to Beacon. Jaune shouldered his duffel bag that held all his weapons, armor and personal effects. He hadn't packed too much, just clothes, weapons and books, mostly. They turned to faced each other. Paarthurnax had changed to look like a man in his late thirties, with the same white hair and green eyes.

"Be sure to call, Azura just might skin you alive if you don't." Paarthurnax said light-heartedly. They embraced before Jaune turned around to board the bullhead. The bay door closed and the ship took off.

The dragon was left standing alone on the dock, until a purple and black portal swirled to life and Sheogorath stepped out. He wore black slacks and coat with a purple dress shirt and a black tie. His gray hair was disheveled, but it suited his appearance since the god had taken the form of a man in his mid twenties.

"Do you think we made the right call, Paarthy?" the uncharacteristically calm god asked. Paarthurnax just stood there, frowning at the ground. He finally answered, "Time will tell."

He walked away, and Sheogorath raised an eyebrow as he watched his old friend walk away. it seemed Paarthurnax was already developing some empty nest syndrome. Sheogorath chuckled. There was definitely a joke in that statement somewhere. Or it could just be his insanity. He teleported out of the docks, leaving the empty place quiet.

A raven with red eyes that had been sitting on a lamppost just above where the higher beings had talked took off and flew away.

* * *

 **First chapter of my new crossover fic!**

 **As always, please leave reviews and check out my other stories if you want.**

 **Fireballmonkey out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own RWBY or Skyrim.**

* * *

Jaune hated airships.

He was currently hunched over a trash bin near the back of the airship, trying in vain to fight his newly discovered motion sickness. After unloading the contents of his stomach, he stumbled over to a bench and took a seat, hoping to stave off his queasiness.

 _'How the hell can I ride a dragon and feel perfectly fine, but a fucking airship gives me motion sickness?'_ Jaune thought. The boy laid an oilcloth over his lap and unholstered Dragon Song to start disassembling and cleaning it, like he always did when he needn't to keep his mind and hands occupied. He noticed that some of the other passengers were giving him odd looks, but they all turned there attention to a hologram projection of a blonde woman in a white blouse, black business skirt and a black and purple tattered cape. She started speaking.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch. You are one of the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace,"

Jaune let out a soft, bitter chuckle at that. He knew better than most of these kids that there is no peace. Only the absence of conflict, and that never lasted long.

"And as future huntsmen and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task. And now, it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram vanished, and Jaune frowned at her last words. How could these people protect the world if they were totally ignorant to one of its biggest threats. A single dragon could wipe out an entire village in minutes. He knew that from experience. Once he'd cleaned his pistol, he got up to take in the view, the sight of Vale and Beacon seemed to help, before he had to rush to a trash can to puke again.

 _'FUCKING WHY?!'_ He mentally demanded. His scroll started buzzing, so he answered it to hear Azura. "Hello Jaune, would you care to explain what I found on your bathroom counter?"

"Um, that depends on what you found, Azura." He walked over to a corner, knowing how loud the woman could yell even over the phone.

Meanwhile, a raven-haired cat faunus in disguise watched him while looking over the book in her hands. She heard him argue with someone over the phone.

"So what if I left my toothbrush? I can get one in Vale after initiation...Okay, you and I both know that fire was not my fault... Oh, oh, you wanna go there? Do I have to bring up the trading post in Vacuo?... Oh, believe me, I _would_ dare...Alright, alright, I'll talk to you later. Tell the guys I said hi...Goodbye." The boy hung up and walked towards the doors as they opened to the landing pads of Beacon. The girl got up as the other students exited.

* * *

Once he found a spot in a garden to sit on and settle his stomach, he let out a tired sigh and ran a hand through his blonde hair. He noticed a koi pond a few feet to his right, and stood to walk up next to it. He watched as the fish swam away from his shadow. Since he was alone, he spoke aloud, " **Raan**."

His animal allegiance shout made the fish much calmer, they swam more fluidly. One even swam up and allowed Jaune to touch its side. Jaune quickly stood straight up when he heard an explosion coming from the direction of the docks. He mad his way there and saw two girls as a cloud of smoke dissipated.

One girl had black hair with red tips at the ends along with silver eyes and a red hooded cape. The other seemed to be yelling at the red girl and was dressed in nearly all white, with white hair that was done in an off center ponytail and had icy-blue eyes. As he made his way over, another girl with black hair and a bow on her head showed up.

The white and black themed girls soon left, and the red girl flopped onto her back while muttering, "Welcome to Beacon." Jaune, being the good samaritan with a side of badass that he was, walked over to her and held out his hand.

"Hey. I'm Jaune." He said as the girl took his hand. "Ruby. Aren't you the guy who threw up on the ship?"

* * *

"All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on. I didn't even know I had it until that airship ride."

"Look, I'm sorry. Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to mind."

"Yeah? Well, what if I called you Crater Face?"

"Hey! That explosion was an accident."

"Well, the name's Jaune Arc. Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue."

As Jaune and the girl, Ruby Rose, walked on through a courtyard, Ruby said, "So...I got this thing." She then proceeded to pull out a giant-ass scythe.

"Woah! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked for some reason.

She nodded. "It's also a customizable, high impact sniper rifle."

"That is awesome." Jaune said in awe.

"What about you?"

"Oh, I've got these." He said, pulling out his pistols. "This is Dragon Song and Greiving Widow. One can shift into a tomahawk and the other can turn into a dagger."

Ruby gawked over his weapons before he holstered them and pulled out his bow and sword. "I also have Nightingale and Crocea Mors. They don't transform into anything, but I like them all the same."

"Ooohh. Did you make them?"

"I made the pistols, but Nightingale was a gift from a friend and Crocea Mors is a hand me down." Jaune smile flickered off for a moment, "My grandfather gave me it before he died." He put them back in his duffel along with Grieving Widow.

"Oh..." Ruby said. Eager to change the subject, Jaune asked, "Do you know where we're going?"

"No, I was following you."

"Oh. Do you think there's a directory anywhere? Maybe a food court? Some kind of memorable landmark?"

* * *

As Jaune and Ruby finally found the auditorium, They looked around until Ruby spotted her sister waving at her and abruptly left. Jaune, not wanting to bother with pushing through the crowd, opted to lean against the back wall and try to not stand out. Contrary to what he'd told Paarthurnax, he didn't feel like talking to a whole bunch of people or getting involved in other people's matters. Or any matters of any nature. He'd gotten lucky with Ruby. She was quirky, and that was always fun. He was pulled out of his thoughts when, coincidentally, the black themed girl from earlier took a spot a few yards away from him. Jaune could've sworn he saw her looking at him. Soon enough, Professor Ozpin himself stepped on stage and approached the single microphone.

"I'll keep this brief. You have travelled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you are finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy. In need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

After the silver haired man's oh-so invigorating speech, he left and the lady from the hologram on the airship stepped in.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed."

"Great pep-talk. Really feeling the positive vibes." Jaune muttered. He made his way out to find the locker room.

* * *

After stowing his things in locker...crap, he couldn't remember his locker number! Oh well, a problem for another day. Jaune was dressed in a cyan tank top and black gym shorts. He carried a bedroll and a thousand year old book entitled _History of Nirn: A World long forgotten._ Azura had kept quite an impressive stash of these books from the old days.

He found a window sill that was about five feet off the ground. the alcove had the perfect amount of space for him to sleep comfortably without fear of falling off. As he sat there, one leg dangling off the edge, he put on his reading glasses. Jaune quietly read a few passages to himself.

" _Nonvul bron, dahmaan daar rot. Nau revak frod drey faal Bronjun Gjalund krif voth ahkrin ahrk mah nol liiv nin do fahliil ronaaz. Naal kunsevurii mu nir un paalu wah laat. Nid fahliil drey lahney. Kronaan naal krosis drey aarre do Gjalund daal Ahrolsedovah, kolos rok fent unslaad praan._ "

The direct translation being: _Noble Nord, remember this word. On sacred battlefield did the Jarl Gjalund fight with courage and fall from wither sting of elf arrow. By light of his valor we hunt our foe to last. No elf did live. Conquered by sorrow did servants do Gjalund return Hill of the Dragon, in which he shall ceaseless rest._

He flipped a few pages to one very memorable part.

 _"Lingrah vod ko goraan bokselein, norok dovah Numinex drey rel pah Keizaal. Zofaas zoor al sahsun, ag suleyksejun, ahrk krii unslaad Bron. Nid suleyk ko Taazokaan ronit sunvaar._

 _Nii tahrodiis tiid ko Keizaal, fah junaar win ahzid keinsekulaan. Faal Bronjun nis aav wah kriin dovah, fah ov nis siiv naal naan._ "

Translation: _Long ago in young ages of the world, fearsome dragon Numinex did ravage all of Skyrim. Dreadful drake destroyed entire villages, burned cities and killed countless Nords. No power in Tamriel did rival the monster._

 _It was troubled time in Skyrim, for bitter war of succession did rage between holds. The Jarls could not join to conquer beast, for trust could not be found by any..._

Before he knew it, the black themed girl who he was starting to think was stalking him came along and took a spot a few feet to the right of Jaune's. Being suspicious as he was, Jaune whispered, " **Laas**."

As he looked toward the raven-haired girl, he saw two small triangles on top of her head, where her bow was...

So, she's a faunus. That meant she may have heard him mumbling in a thousand year old language that 99% of living, sentient beings on this world didn't know existed. Fortunately, she didn't try talking to him and pulled out a candle to read her own book.

Jaune managed to get perhaps ten minutes of peace and quiet before he heard a girl say, "Hello!" As it turns out, it was a blonde girl pulling Ruby by the hand over to the black themed girl.

"I believe you two may know each other."

"Aren't you that girl that exploded?"

"Yeah, my name's Ruby. But you can just call me Crater...Um, actually you can just call me Ruby."

"Okay."

"What are you doing?" The blonde girl asked. "I don't know, help me."

"So, what's your name?" The girl let out a small sigh of annoyance, something Jaune could relate with. "Blake."

"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister. I like your bow."

"Thanks."

"It goes great with your...pajamas."

"Right..."

"Nice night, don't you think?"

"Yes, it's lovely. Almost as lovely as this book." Ruby and Yang somehow didn't take the hint.

"That I will continue to read." Still nothing. "As soon as you leave."

"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause." Yang told her sister. Ruby asked, "What's it about?"

"Huh?"

"Your book, does it have a name."

"It's about a man with two souls. Each fighting for control over his body."

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." The three girls turned to Jaune, who was now just realizing those words had left his mouth. He kept calm though, and looked up from his own book. "It's a good read."

"Oh, hey Jaune. I didn't see you there." Ruby said after recognizing the boy.

"So, this is Jaune." Yang said, eyeing his lean but muscular figure. She and the other two then noticed the multiple scars on his arms, legs and neck that looked like claw marks, accompanied by several old burn marks and smaller cuts on his hands. "Evening." Jaune greeted calmly before going back to his book.

Noticing that Jaune didn't want to talk, the two sisters turned back to Blake, who found that a bit irritating. "I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed, stories of heroes and monsters. They're one of the reasons I want to be a huntress."

"Why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?"

"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in those books. Someone who fought for what was right and protected those who couldn't protect them selves."

"I see. That's very ambitious for a child. Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale." Jaune narrowed his eyes. That was a voice of experience. _'What's your story?'_

"Well, that's why we're here. To make it better." They heard some chuckling and turned to the person, who happened to be Jaune. "Let me know how that turns out for you." He commented.

"What in the world is going on over here? Don't you people realize that some of us are trying to sleep?"

The white haired girl that had been yelling at Ruby in the courtyard stomped over angrily. When she saw Yang, they both yelled, "Oh, not you again!"

"Sshhh, guys, she's right. People are trying to sleep."

"Oh, now you're on my side?"

"I was always on your side."

"Hey, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice."

"She's a hazard to my health!"

The room suddenly went dark as Blake blew out her candles. Jaune put his things away and went to sleep, wondering what the headmaster had planned for initiation.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Ridiculous! There's no way I put my locker in number 636. I would've remembered to count that high." Jaune mumbled as he walked around the locker room, trying to find the locker with all his stuff. He soon spotted it behind the short, white haired girl, Weiss was her name, he remembered. The other girl was a beautiful, red haired goddess in bronze armor with stunning emerald eyes.

As he got closer, he heard the white one talk to herself, "This will be perfect! The smartest girl in class partnered with the strongest girl in class. Together we will be unstoppable. We'll be celebrities, we'll be famous, nothing can come between us now!"

Jaune stepped in between them and placed a hand on his locker door. "You know what else is great? Me, Jaune Arc. You know another thing that's great? You moving so I can get my stuff from my locker."

"Not you again." She said while crossing her arms and stepping back.

"You seem to say that a lot, Frosty." Weiss sputtered and grew increasingly more annoyed. "How dare you talk to me like that!"

"Well, from the bottom of my heart, my bad. But, I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"I'm Weiss Schnee." She said haughtily. Jaune blinked. "Your name means white snow?" She seemed surprised that he knew that. "Yes."

He reached over the top of the locker and swept his hand along it. "What are you doing?"

"Pretending you're not here, Weiss Schnee. Can we trade names?" He answered with saturating mockery. That got her riled up even more as he finally found the paper with his locker code written on it.

"What's wrong, Weiss? You look frazzled. To embarrassed to ask to be on my team?" Jaune knew that wasn't the case, but he loved annoying this bitchy, god-complex of a girl. The redhead stepped in. "Actually, I think the teams are comprised of four students each."

Jaune half listened as he opened his locker and put on his quiver, holsters and sheathed sword. After loading his guns and loading his ammo belt with different kinds of munitions, he filled his quiver with fire, ice and lightning Dust arrows, along with ten serrated broad head arrows. As he readied himself for initiation, he turned to the spartan. "Well, red, play your cards right and who knows? We might be...Wait, what were we talking about? Never mind, not important. See you two at the cliffs." Jaune shut his locker and strode off once he was dressed in his armor.

Both Weiss and and the red-haired girl were left befuddled at the blonde guy's antics.

* * *

Jaune stood on the cliff, a pair of aviator shades over his eyes, his arms crossed in front of him and earbuds in his ears to block out the useless chatter of the other students. When he saw the headmaster and Professor Goodwitch start speaking, he took them out and stowed them in his pocket.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said.

Professor Goodwitch said, "Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams. Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates. Today."

Jaune could hear Ruby let out a disheartened whine before Ozpin explained further. "These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon Academy. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone who you can work well with. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with once you landed will be your partner for the next four years."

He could've sworn he heard Ruby's world shatter like glass.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way,"

"Oh joy." Jaune muttered.

"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in our path, or you will die. You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and make it back to the top of the cliff. You will guard your item, as well as your standing, and grade them accordingly. Are there any questions? Good. Now, take your positions."

No one had any, so Jaune stuck his earbuds in and tried to figure out the best way to launch while listening to Buddy by Willy Nelson. He'd woken up at around 5:30 and had snooped around the platforms the initiates were presently standing on. As he mulled over his options, he failed to notice the ghost of an amused grin on the headmaster's face. He just decided to wing it and stuck his hands in his pockets while bending his knees slightly. As he felt the gears shift under him and was shot into the air, he straightened his body so that he 'stood' straight up.

While the trees grew closer and closer to him, he took a deep breath and shouted, " **Feim Zii Gron!** " A blue mist enveloped Jaune before his whole body turned into a mass of the stuff. His Ethereal form collided with a bunch of trees before his eyes widened in horror. There was a bird in his path. _'Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit Out of the way Out of the way Out of the way!'_ but it was too late and his form collided with the bird in a burst of feathers. Since he'd harmed another soul, that meant his shout lost its effect and he turned back to normal...right as he collided face first with a tree. "Eat a dick, forest." He said before sliding down the trunk and flopping painfully onto his back. His fists clenched.

"Cover it in crow feathers, grim blood and the tears of your victims," He yelled as he got up and removed his now busted sunglasses, "AND EAT A BIG, SOFT DICK!" The only ones who heard were more birds that flew off. As Jaune watched, he sighted out a raven amidst the other, less graceful birds. He faced it and shouted at it, " **Raan!** " As a wave of violet energy collided with the raven, it faltered before turning around and flew towards Jaune. The boy allowed it to land on his shoulder before he told it, "Alright bud, sorry I scared you, but I need some help. Just fly over me and point me in the direction of the forest temple. Got it?"

The black bird let out a squawk of confirmation. "I like you. I think I'll name you Edgar." Edgar seemed satisfied with his title and took flight. Jaune started walking after it, knowing he could take his time.

After walking a few kilometers north, Jaune was getting board. What kind of deadly forest was this that he hadn't found any grimm to slaughter? It was truly shameful. As he walked to the edge of a clearing, he no longer saw Edgar, and assumed that meant he'd reached the temple. Unfortunately, he'd actually stumbled into a pack of at least 20 beowolves. The bipedal wolf-grimm turned to see the boy and Jaune knew there was no chance of escaping a pack this size. As the creatures growled and stalked closer to him, he clasped his gauntleted hands and rubbed them together before pulling out Crocea Mors and twirling it theatrically. "Alright, guess it's time to make some chimi-fucking-changas."

The first beowolf leaped at Jaune, but he stepped to the side and brought his sword down on its neck, decapitating it. After watching their companion get killed so easily, the other grimm approached more cautiously. Jaune decided to skip the foreplay and get this over with quickly, with two guns and maximum effort. He switched to his pistols and started firing as more beowolves charged.

"Seventeen, sixteen, fifteen, fourte-Woah!" Jaune ducked as one jumped at him from the right side. He turned Grieving Widow into its dagger form and threw it into the beowolf's skull. Jaune alternated between slashing through their numbers and dodging around them, herding them into a single group while firing Dust arrows or rounds from his pistol. Before long, the grimms' numbers were dwindling as Jaune reloaded his guns. Once he'd taken out most of the stragglers, it was down to him and the alpha.

The creature was several feet taller than the rest, with added bone plating on its limbs and face. As the alpha charged on all fours, Jaune fired a round from Dragon Song, but the bullet just skimmed off its tougher armor. He fired two more bullets, but they did no good either... and now his gun was empty. He should've known not to waste bullets. "Bad Jaune." He scolded himself. The beowolf alpha was getting closer, he saw this as an opportunity to unleash a bit of pent up fury. " **YOL TOOR!** " A swirling inferno rushed from Jaune's face. It hit the grimm like a truck, blasting its flaming body away. It lay limp as the flames died down, and Jaune walked over after collecting and reloading his weapons.

When Jaune got within a few feet of the beast, it growled lightly and tried in vain to get up. Most of its fur was singed off, and now it was just a burnt, smoking husk that had once been the pack leader. Jaune stepped forward and plunged his sword into the beowolf's throat. Its body twitched before it finally went limp and dissolved. Jaune flicked the blood off his sword and sheathed it.

He spun around and knocked an arrow in his bow when he heard the sound of burned grass being crushed by a foot. He turned to see Blake. He quickly put the arrow back and slung his bow across his back. "Hey."

"...Hey, Jaune. Did you do all this?" She asked hesitantly, gesturing to the smoldering, blood stained fields. He noticed there were still multiple grimm carcasses laying around, half dissolved.

"Uh, yeah. I guess I went a bit overboard." He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.  
He tried to change the subject, "So, I guess we're partners then?"

She nodded, "It appears so."

They both heard a cawing and looked up to see a raven. "Edgar! Where have you been? You could've given me a warning that I was walking feet first into a fucking pack of beowolves." Jaune yelled as the bird landed on his arm. Blake looked very confused. "Why are you talking to a crow?"

Edgar squawked angrily. "He's a raven. I had him fly above the forest to find the temple." Jaune said before turning back to the bird, "But _someone_ left me to the wolves." The bird squawked again. "Whatever, just go. _Zu'u gaar hi nol hin ahmik_ (I release you from your service)." The raven chirped before flying off to god knows where. Blake seemed surprised. "What did you just do?"

"It's an ancient language that correlates with my semblance. It's pretty hard to explain."

"Well, we've got time." The girl started walking north, since that was where Ozpin said the temple would be.

Jaune thought up a way to explain his semblance without giving away anything about the dragons, the old world or anything that might make him sound completely insane. Turns out, it wasn't as hard as he thought.

"Well, my semblance has been passed down through generations. Ever since the language was common knowledge. Only one person could have it at a time, and the power could only be passed on when they were close to death." That part was true, but it wasn't just Arcs who could receive it.

"Over the years, the next receiver of the semblance was able to find new ways to alter their semblance's energy. After centuries, the one in possession could perform elemental attacks, manipulate the weather, even control lesser beings, like I did with Edgar." Blake nodded as he explained, seeming to understand.

"Alright, but how does the ancient language you talked about fit in?"

Jaune let a half insane, half mischievous grin spread across his lips. "I'll show you. Stand back." She did, and Jaune turned to a lone, dead tree off the path. He inhaled deeply before shouting, " **Liz Slen Nus!** " The giant sphere of ice and steam shot forwards, engulfing the tree and freezing the whole trunk. Blake's amber eyes were wide at what she just witnessed. Jaune had completely frozen a tree by literally shouting at it. She noticed the boy start walking again and swiftly caught up to him.

"Each shout is made up of three words of power from the old language. When said the right way in the right order, they can do stuff like that. _Liz_ means ice, _Slen_ means flesh, and _Nus_ means statue. And if you think that's impressive, you should've seen the one I used on that alpha back there."

"So, did your grandfather teach you how to use your semblance?" Blake asked. Jaune stared at the ground as they walked. "No, he died when I was seven, after he passed it on to me. My mentor taught me everything I know. He practically raised me since I was ten."

He stopped at the edge of another clearing, but continued when he saw a circular, stone temple. Walking into the center, Jaune saw a bunch of pedestals with chess pieces on them.

"Chess pieces?" Blake asked. He nodded.

"Yep. It looks like we weren't the first ones here either." He looked through the remaining pieces, deciding on a white knight. "How about a horse? Blake, did you hear me?" He turned to Blake, but she was looking and pointing straight up. Jaune copied her first action and saw Ruby falling from the sky and a giant nevermore circling the clearing. Only for Ruby to get hit with a flying, yellow girl and both of them went hurling into the trees.

"Do my eyes deceive me or did Ruby fall from the sky and get intercepted by her sister?"

"I-"

Before Blake could respond, an Ursa toppled into the edge of the clearing while a redheaded girl in pink fired grenades at it. As the grimm lay dead, she pouted, "Aww, it's broken." As she started poking the beast with a stick, a green clad boy with a black ponytail caught up to her, panting slightly. "Nora, please...don't ever do that again...Nora?"

A pink blur shot by Jaune and Blake and stopped at the temple, examining a white rook piece. "Ooohh." Nora then started singing, "I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!"

"Nora!"

"Hehe, coming Ren!"

Blake asked, "Did that girl just ride in on an Ursa?"

"Yep. A true genius in the making." Jaune observed. They heard more trees crashing and saw Pyrrha Nikos being chased by a 40 ft. tall deathstalker. "Yang!"

"Did she just run all the way over hear with a deathstalker on her tail?"

"Pyrrha!" Yang finally made it to the temple, along with her sister, just in time to see Pyrrha get knocked away by the deathstalker's claws and land at their feet.

Jaune was getting a bit angry. Just a little bit. "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! CAN EVERYONE JUST CHILL OUT FOR FIVE SECONDS BEFORE SOME OTHER CRAZY BULLSHIT HAPPENS AGAIN!?" Apparently, that was too much to ask as only two seconds went by before everyone looked up to see a white speck dangling from the nevermore's talon and yell, "How could you leave me?!"

"I said jump."

"She's gonna fall."

"She'll be fine."

"She's falling."

"Oh look, it's snowing. No one told me winter came around for a warm up lap." Jaune muttered as he just walked right under where he predicted Weiss would fall and held out his arms. "Three...two...one...landing!" He caught Weiss, not even faltering as the new weight collided with his outstretched arms. He set her on her feet and heard Yang say, "Great. The gang's all here. Now we can die together."

Jaune uncaringly retorted, "Meh, I've already lived longer than I expected." That was actually true. When he first started training under Paarthurnax, he didn't think he'd stand a chance against his first dragon, or even a creature of grimm for that matter.

"Not if I can help it." Ruby ran toward the giant fucking scorpion with only herself and charged head on and OH GOD WHAT IS SHE THINKING!?

"Ruby wait!" Yang called out. But Ruby either didn't hear her or ignored her sister and swung her scythe across the deathstalker's armored face. The scorpion knocked her aside with minimal effort and charged at the girl. Yang ran after her, but the Nevermore had finally circled around and unleashed a volley of giant, razor sharp feathers. No one was killed, but one feather pinned Ruby's cape into the earth and blocked Yang's path to get to her sister.

Jaune was about to use his whirlwind shout, but Weiss shot forward using her glyphs and stabbed her rapier into the ground, creating a half-dome of ice that trapped the deathstalker's stinger.

"You are so childish..."

"Weiss?"

Oh for the love of all that is holy, is she doing this now?

"...And dimwitted, and hyperactive, and don't even get me started on your fighting style. And I suppose I can be a bit...difficult. But if we're going to do this, we're going to have to do this together. So, if you quit trying to show off, I'll be...nicer."

"I'm not trying to show off. I just want you to know I can do this."

"Your fine." Weiss walked back to the temple, with Ruby following and saying something about normal knees. Yang raced toward her sister and proceeded to crush her torso in a hug. "I'm so happy you're okay!" Since Jaune didn't want to hear any human bones cracking today, he came between the two.

"Ladies, as touching as this moment is, we've got a bird on one end of a stick and a scorpion on the other. I suggest we get our relics and take the smaller stick that's attached to the main stick that we'll lead us to safety. Okay? Okay. Okay? Okay."

He took out Dragon Song and pulled the slide back, letting the round that was in the chamber fall into his waiting hand. He put that in his pocket and headed in the direction of the cliffs once Ruby and Pyrrha had grabbed their pieces, the others following.

* * *

As they literally ran out of the woods, they weren't metaphorically out of the woods yet as the two giant grimm seemed determined to rip out their entrails and eat them with a side of skin and bone.

The group ran through a large pathway lined with old stone columns that were taller than the deathstalker and spotted the cliffs a kilometer away. They took cover behind the pillars as the nevermore perched itself on a giant, stone tower. Why the hell were there so many abandoned stone buildings in the middle of the forest?

Jaune saw Nora run out and distract the bird as it hurled more feathers at them. At the same time, the deathstalker decided to make an entrance. "Keep running!" He yelled. They made it to a ravine that separated them from the tower and cliffs and started crossing a narrow bridge. Jaune, Blake, Ren and Pyrrha stopped to fire at the scorpion, and Jaune managed to make it across before the nevermore took out the bridge, leaving the other three to fight it off.

Yang and Nora used their weapons to propel them across the gap, Nora bringing down her war hammer on the deathstalker's head before launching backward and colliding with Blake...sending her into the ravine.

Jaune watched as she threw her chain scythe/sword/gun thingy and used it as a swing to send her back into the air and onto the nevermore's back. She ran down to its tail, slashing at it before jumping off and landing safely on one of the ramparts. That left her, Jaune, Ruby and Weiss on that side, standing on a broken chunk of wall to deal with the bird.

"It's tougher than it looks." Blake told them. Jaune unslung his bow and notched a fire arrow. "Then let's throw whatever we've got at it. I don't know about you guys, but I sure as hell ain't getting killed by an overgrown magpie." The nevermore screeched even louder than usual. "You heard me!"

The four started unloading projectiles as the bird flew closer. It swept under them and knocked out the stone columns keeping their level of the tower up. As it collapsed, they jumped from falling chunk of rock to the next until they found stable ground.

"None of this is working!" Weiss exclaimed. Jaune watched as the grimm flew about, then his eyes found two pillars that were about twenty feet apart. "Ruby!" He yelled. Said girl was soon by his side, and he explained his awesome plan to her. He then ran up the pillars and leapt onto the nevermore's head. He started punching his gauntleted fists into the bone plated head, cracking the plating before he jumped off and the woozy beast crashed into the cliffside.

It regained its senses, however, but Weiss rushed passed Jaune and froze its tail feathers to the ground as Jaune climbed the left pillar he'd seen earlier and grabbed the end of Blakes sword so the ribbon stretched between the two like a slingshot. Ruby jumped into the center of the ribbon and Weiss used a black glyph to keep her in place before Ruby was shot through the air and hooked her scythe around the birds neck, hitting the cliff and staying there with the help of more glyphs. Ruby ran up the rock face and leaped over the league, taking the nevermore's head clean off.

The others stood in awe that Jaune and Ruby's plan had actually worked. "Well...that was something." Blake said. "That statement could sum up my whole life." Jaune muttered under his breath.

* * *

 **Chapter three is here!**

 **The plot will mostly follow the canon story line, but I'll add a few story arcs of my own.**

 **Keep aware for updates and be sure to leave reviews and check out my other stories.**

 **Fireballmonkey out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Yang Xiao Long, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie, Lie Ren. You retrieved the white rook pieces and shall hence forth be known as team PLLN (Platinum). Led by Pyrrha Nikos."

Ruby cheered for her sister's new team as the last first years were assigned teams for the rest of their time at Beacon. Once they were up, they approached the headmaster and stood as the audience cheered and clapped.

"Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc and Weiss Schnee. You four recovered the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as team JSBR (Jasper). Led by Jaune Arc."

"Say what now?" The boy asked. Weiss also seemed displeased with Ozpin's decision.

"Congratulations, young man." Ozpin said with an amused grin. "It seems that things are shaping up to be an...interesting year."

* * *

"Well, this day was thoroughly exhausting." Jaune commented as his new team entered their dorm room and picked the bed closest to the window.

"You didn't seem tired when you were killing all those grimm." Blake said as she picked her bed. Jaune raised a hand into the air for emphasis, "Adrenaline works wonders, my dear partner." Weiss stood at the end of his bed with her hands on her hips. "Ahem." Jaune ignored it, hoping she'd just scamper off.

" _Ahem!_ " That did not appear to be the case. Jaune got up and leaned back on his elbows. "What?"

"We need to change."

"Okay..."

"And we need privacy." She then moved slightly to give him a view of the bathroom.

"Alright, alright. I'm going." He went into the bathroom and closed the door, performing his nightly duties before sitting and waiting for the girls' go ahead to leave the small, tile-floored room. For twenty minutes. "Guys, can I come out now?" No one answered. "Guys?" He opened the door a crack, then all the way and saw everyone sleeping in their beds. "Oh, screw you all." He muttered before climbing into his own bed and falling asleep.

* * *

 _I wonder if I'll get to really sleep this time..._

 _"Dovahkiin" Oh boy, here we go. "Dovahkiin, mu lost ni tinvaak ko orin aan ol._ (We have not talked in quite a while) _."_

 _"Yeah, I've just been weeping in your absence, godzilla." Jaune spoke to the inner voice that invaded his dreams._

 _"Foolish mortal. You would show me respect if your tiny mind could even comprehend my power. Now my soul has been forcedly merged with that of a puny blonde brat, and you won't believe how long it took to gather enough energy to make a connection to that small brain of yours."_

 _"Yep. Too bad you're stuck in my head, Durnehviir." He responded to the bodiless dragon soul that was merged with his own. "So, any_ _particular reason you decided to forcefully penetrate my mind?"_

 _"Your wit never ceases to amuse me."_

 _"Noted. Now, shall we get down to business?"_

 _"What's the rush? You and I both know time is fluid here."_

 _"Yeah, but I'd like to get some actual sleep while the night's young."_

 _"Fair enough. You should know that dark times are approaching."_

 _"Woah there, dude. Slow down. I can't handle all those details." He heard a growl echo through his subconscious._

 _"I hate you."_

 _"Love you too, darling."_

 _"I speak of the one's in possession of Sheogorath's...mistakenly bestowed Lah_ (magic) _"_

 _"Ugh, I'll deal with that when it comes. Besides, I'm sure Azura and Paarthurnax can handle them."_

 _"Perhaps,"_ _Durnehviir said, "Perhaps not."_

 _"Why do you say that?"_

 _"..."_

 _"Durnehviir?"_

 _"_ _Durnehviir?" The dragon's disembodied voice did not respond as Jaune began to hear the crackling of a campfire. But the crackling soon turned into the roar of a wildfire, mixed with the screams of villagers and his grandfather yelling at Jaune to take his sword and run..._

* * *

"Jaune!"

Jaune immediately sat bolt upright, causing his teammates to jump back in alarm. He was panting and sweating slightly as he noticed their concerned faces.

"What?"

"We've been trying to wake you up for fifteen minutes. Ruby even started slapping you and we have the school nurse on stand by!" Weiss explained.

"Oh, that explains why my face hurts." Jaune sighed as he rubbed his cheek. He could never tell how much time passed when he was talking with Durnehviir. When he dreamt, minutes in his dream world could be hours or only seconds in the real one. He told them it was just a bad dream and managed to reassure Weiss and Ruby, who went to get changed. But he saw that Blake looked the most worried. "What's wrong, Blake?"

"You kept talking in your sleep." Jaune raised an eyebrow. "You kept saying stuff about fire, Jaune. How it was burning everything." Jaune sat up and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Blake. Like I said, it was just a nightmare." She didn't look convinced, but left it alone and headed into the bathroom to change. Since it was Sunday and classes didn't start until tomorrow, they didn't have to put on their uniforms. Jaune just put on a pair of jeans and his black hoodie.

Once everyone had clothes on, Jaune asked, "So, what do you guys want to do? Classes don't start until tomorrow, so we got some time."

"Weiss wanted us to explore the school to memorize where everything is." Ruby suggested. Jaune nodded.

"Alright, but how about we get some breakfast first?" Jaune said as his stomach growled louder than an Ursa. They all agreed, so team JSBR headed out the door. As his team walked down the hallway toward the stairs, Jaune put his hands in his pockets and contemplated what Durnehviir had told him. If the ones who took Amber's powers were planning something, he'd have to find out what. That probably meant talking with Ozpin and Qrow. He shook his head, dispelling the thoughts. There was no need to think about that now. He was training to be a huntsman now.

His team finally made it to the cafeteria and saw Yang wave them over to a table where her team sat. After getting their food, they sat down across from team PLLN. "Morning," Jaune greeted. He saw that Nora was scarfing down pancakes faster than a blood dragon could swallow a fishing boat while Ren was busy monitoring her so she wouldn't choke to death. Jaune then met Yang's eyes, and saw that she kept her threatening gaze on him with a mix of curiosity and anger. Thankfully, Pyrrha was paying attention and willing/able to respond. "Good morning, Jaune. How are you all adjusting to your dorms."

"Fine. Although, I did have a bit of a rude awakening." He replied, turning to Ruby, who paused with a cookie halfway to her waiting mouth. She let out a small, nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head. Jaune rolled his eyes before turning back to the other team. "Anyhow, what about you guys?"

"We're fine." Yang said quickly. They all turned to her and Ruby asked, "Are you alright, Yang? You seem...angrier than usual." She got up and made her way around the table.

"Actually, Jaune and I need to have a little chat. _Now_." Jaune just grabbed his milk carton as he was dragged out of the cafeteria with a straight face. He saw other students staring at him, being pulled out by the collar while sipping from a carton of milk like he was still sitting at a table. "Nothing to see here, folks. Move along."

Once out of the cafeteria, the girl lifted Jaune to his feet and spun him around to face her. Jaune took a painfully long sip through the straw of his drink, taking a bit of satisfaction as her eye twitched angrily. "So, what's up?"

"What's up? _What's up_? What's up is that I want to know what you've been doing around my sister."

Jaune narrowed his eyes. Who did she think he is, some kind of pervert? "Care to elaborate?" He asked calmly. She forced him up against the wall. "You know what I'm talking about, Arc!" He slapped her hands off of him so he could actually stand on the ground. "If you're insinuating that I'd do something to harm a teammate and friend, I'm afraid you're mistaken, Xiao Long." That seemed to calm her down as she sighed. "Look, I'm...sorry. But Ruby's my sister. My _family._ If anything happened to her, I couldn't live with myself."

"I know. But she's got friends now. We'll have her back and she'll have ours." He smiled, she smiled, too. "We'll all help each other." Just then, their teams walked out the cafeteria doors. "Hey guys, you were gone a while so we left to find you." Ruby said as they walked over to the two blondes.

"We're fine, Ruby. Just talking." Jaune said as he slid his hands into his hoodie pockets. "Well, what do you guys want to check out next?" Blake spoke up, "I was hoping to see the library."

"Sounds good to me. How about you guys?" Jaune said, turning to Ruby and Weiss. "Ew, books." Ruby groaned, "Why don't we do something fun? Oh, I know! We can see the forges." The young girl seemed to get more and more excited the longer she thought about a facility dedicated to the creation, manufacturing and maintenance of weaponry. "Well, how about we split up? Blake and I can see the library and you two can see the forge."

"Alright! Let's go, Weiss!" And just like that, Ruby sped off down the hall. Jaune gave team PLLN a quick goodbye and strode down the other direction with Blake following him.

* * *

Two large double doors creaked open, giving the two teens a view of the largest library either of them had ever seen due to the fact that Blake had grown up outside the kingdoms, far away from any fount of knowledge this size and for Jaune, it was because Azura's collection was kept in her closet, an area Jaune wouldn't dare venture even if he was suicidal.

"So what do you want to..." Jaune trailed off when he saw a black blur shoot off into the labyrinth of bookshelves. "...look at." He merely shrugged and walked to the first group of shelves. The boy grabbed a book on ways to manipulate dust and sat at one of the small tables. As Jaune cracked the book open, Blake shot over to his table with a stack of various books and sat down across from him. The two partners read in silence, and before they knew it, two hours had passed and Jaune had already finished his book. He checked the clock on the wall behind him and saw that it was just around noon.

As he rose, his movement snapped Blake out of her reading and she looked up. Jaune took his reading glasses off and stowed them in his pocket before telling Blake, "I've gotta run into Vale and grab a few things."

"Alright, I'l stay here and keep reading."

"Okay, I'll probably be back in an hour or two, so I might not be here for lunch." With that, he walked away, returning the book he'd read back to where it belonged and heading to the airship docks.

* * *

Jaune tried and failed to brace himself for the movements of the air vessel, but his condition beat him and for the next hour, he was hunched over a trash can.

After he'd gotten off that airborne deathtrap, he made his way into the market district to find a pharmacy. He walked around a bit, taking in all the sights of the city. He hadn't been back here in a few months, so it was always nice to see the sights.

Somehow, he'd wandered his way into a huge mall, and, with the help of a directory, made his way to a pharmacy that would have everything he needed. The boy wandered the aisles, grabbing motion sickness meds, a toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash. He also bought deodorant and a small kit for cleaning and fixing glasses. It never hurt to be prepared. As Jaune made his way out of the mall, he resumed his walk down the street, only to see a man get thrown to the ground at his feet. He turned to see the bouncer of a pub that had thrown him out, then looked back at the man and noticed the black/gray hair, red cape and the scent of a distillery wafting from him.

The man rolled onto his back as the bouncer yelled, "And stay out!", before slamming the pub door shut.

"Does someone pay you to get thrown out of bars or is it just a hobby of yours?" He asked the man. The old crow finally noticed the young warrior's presence and got up. "Jaune, it's been a while."

"Qrow." He helped the man up and Jaune continued on down the street with Qrow following him. "Have you found any new leads since Mistral?"

"Nothing substantial. We've heard a few rumors here and there."

"Well, I've got bupkis as well. Although I haven't gotten to look into it in a while on account of training. Plus, you know, hunting giant, flying lizards."

Qrow took a swig from his flask, "Seems like we're always going one step forward and two steps back."

"Tell me about it. Nocturnal can't even find a lead. It's like they're all gone, poof, into the wind. Durnehviir said that they were up to something, but he wasn't able to give me the full scoop." Jaune replied. So, the search for the one's who took Amber's power was turning up empty, without a solid lead in almost six months. Qrow decided to try and steer the conversation to a topic less depressing. "So, what brings you to Vale?"

"Oh, you know. The weather's fantastic this time of year. Plus, Vale has a wonderful T.G.I. Fridays."

"Come on, Jaune. You don't come here unless you've got a real reason." He took another swig from his flask.

"Alright, I'm enrolled as a student at Beacon." The older man sputtered and ended up coughing on his liquor. He then started laughing. "That's just golden. Jaune Arc a student at an actual combat school? What happened to all that talk about how school was for wimps?"

"Okay, first off, I was thirteen when I said that. Second, I was really dumb when I was thirteen. Third, I needed information and Beacon seemed like the best place to get it."

Once done laughing, Qrow asked, "So that mean you're on a team?"

"Yep. Leader, actually. And let me tell you, being on a team with three teenage girls is a fucking nightmare."

"Hey, I was teammates with Taiyang and two girls, one of which was my sister."

...

...

"Point taken. But at least you didn't have a Schnee." Qrow chuckled at that one. "Oh yeah, I heard the mini Ice Queen was going to Beacon. So who are the others?"

"Well, my partners alright, she doesn't talk all that much. Weiss's partner, Ruby, is the exact opposite of her-"

"Wait. Wait wait wait wait wait wait. WAIT. My niece is on your team?"

"...Ruby's your niece?"

"Yes. And if anything happens to her, I'll rip your-"

"I got it, Qrow. Yang already gave me the talk, albeit _much_ more straightforward." That seemed to calm Qrow down. If he was one thing, it was protective of his nieces. The man actually started laughing a bit as they walked. "She is a fireball, that one."

"She gets it from you."

"You can't prove that."

"We'll see." Jaune checked his scroll. It was 1:30 and they were fairly close to the docks, so he could either grab an airship ride to Beacon now or wait another hour. He chose the former.

"Well, I have to get going if I want to catch the ship. See you around, Qrow."

"Alright. I'm gonna be headed outside the kingdoms on recon, so, you know, don't assume I'm dead or anything." Jaune smiled. "I won't."

"See you around, brat."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

"Asshole."

* * *

 **There's chapter four. Thank you to al my readers and make sure to take a look at my other stories!** **As always, leave reviews.**

 **Fireballmonkey out.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own anything**

* * *

 _"The most powerful weapon on Earth is the human soul on fire." -Ferdinand Foch_

* * *

Jaune walked into one of Beacon's large simulation rooms dressed in his armor with all his weapons sheathed/holstered. The whole thing was just a big, white, empty room except for a control console next to the sliding doors. Jaune made his way over to it and typed in the settings for the sim he wanted. This simulators had an index of any environment, area, city, opponent and exercise type and difficulty possible. From a pack of beowolves in the jungle to a squadron of stealthy assassins on a snow-capped mountain.

Jaune scrolled through before deciding on what he wanted and making his way to one end of the room. The floor started glowing before it changed completely to a grassy field, a cobblestone road rising from it, and then a bunch of small buildings, houses, shops and side streets until the construction was finished. An autonomous voice sounded, _"Simulation construction complete. Map type: Rural Village. Opposition: Three Squadrons, Atlesian Knight MK IV series. Objective 1: Find and retrieve the recovery beacon. Objective 2: Eliminate all hostiles. Simulation begin."_

Jaune scanned the village and decided to start his search at the tallest building that had the words _State House_ engraved over the door.

The boy got Crocea Mors and Dragon Song out as he listened to the sound of metal feet hit stone and mechanical limbs move in their sockets. As the robots emerged from the alley ways and side streets of the village, Jaune rushed them, jumping forward and landing on one of the knights, pushing it down before rolling forward off its head. As he stood, he slashed the heads off two knights on opposite sides of him and shot a fire dust round at the feet of four robots, the explosion launching the charred exoskeletons sparking and twitching as they shut down.

He then switched his pistol to his tomahawk and used it to hook onto one of the lower buildings and climbing on to the roof. He sprinted across, jumping from rooftop to rooftop before he stopped as three knights blocked his path. He fired at them before running the last one through with his sword. Jaune jumped down and was immediately surrounded by more robots.

The boy smirked and held his weapons at the ready as he shouted, " **SU GRAH DUN**!" A gray, swirling mist circled around him, and his eyes started glowing an electric blue. Jane's smirk turned into a mad grin as he tore through the metallic soldiers.

The robots barely had time to react as they were sliced, hacked or even torn to pieces. Jaune, strengthened by his elemental fury shout, was much faster. He buried his sword up to the hilt in one knights abdomen. However, he had to jump back to avoid getting his arms sliced off from another robot, leaving his sword in the dead knight out of his reach. He dodged and ducked as the robot tried to use the dual blades protruding from its wrists to gut him. It lunged with its right blade, and Jaune grabbed its arm and twisted, bringing the metal limb behind the knight's body and stabbing it through its back with its own wrist blade.

He jumped and rolled forward to avoid gunshots from a group of snipers on the roof of the state house. He grabbed his sword, taking the detached torso of the robot it was stabbed in and launching the body, hitting one of the snipers and sending it falling off the roof.

Jaune rushed to the door of the building, entering and slamming the door behind him. He took a moment to catch his breath as the effects of his last shout dissipated, his eyes returning to their oceanic blue. He observed his current location. Four walls, a few bookshelves, a large chalkboard attached to the wall opposite said bookshelves, some trash littered around.

Unholstering Grieving Widow, he pulled back the hammer of his revolver and crept around the large room.

"If I were a recovery beacon, where would I be?" He muttered. He then heard a soft beeping coming from the shelves lined with books. He followed the noise until he found the source, a small, hardback book with a red cover. He opened it and saw that a square hole was cut into the pages, where a small, silver disk was stored. A blue light blinked on and off in rhythm with the beeping, and Jaune snatched it and made his way up to the roof where he remembered the snipers were.

Jaune found a back stairway that led up to the roof, and he opened the steel framed door to see three snipers still watching the ground below. Jaune simply fired through the heads of the closest two before holstering his pistol, not wanting to waste a bullet. As the last knight turned to face him, Jaune yelled, " **Wuld**!" and shot forward, slamming into the robot and stopping at the very edge of the rooftop. He looked down at his gauntleted hand that had punched all the way through the knight's chest. He casually pushed the limp body off his hand and watched it tumble to the ground below.

" _Simulation ended. All hostiles eliminated. Recovery beacon_ _retrieved._ "

* * *

 _Fire . . ._

 _That's all he saw._

 _A seven year old Jaune Arc stood in his family's old living room, flames dancing out of control all around him. It seemed the fire had a mind of its own, eating away at every square inch of the house. He could no longer hear the agonizing screams of his family, nor could he find any of their cooked remains. Outside, something big let out an ear piercing roar. He watched as the fire crept closer, getting ready to devour him._

 _And there was nothing Jaune could do about it._

 _"No." He audibly protested, his voice weak from smoke and yelling for his family. For anyone to help him. He wouldn't die like this. He'd survive. It was't fair. He refused to let the world cheat him, rob him of his family, his home, his life. He'd survive. The boy made a mad dash for the kitchen, planning to reach the door that led to the backyard. He crashed through the flames, not even caring as his legs and feet were burned from the heat. His lungs took in the soot filled air, but he didn't care. They took in any good air that the flames hadn't taken in their greedy search for fuel._

 _He past the broken dining table, stumbled through the kitchen until he tripped, putting his hands in front to keep his face from touching the burning floor. The boy cried out in agony as the flesh on his hands seemed to melt off and he wanted to curl up into a ball and give up but his body wouldn't let him. He got back up and stumbled and crashed through the remains of the kitchen and burst through the back door. He fell straight into the snow, his body smoldering from the flames, and behind him, the Arc family house crumbled and fell on itself._

* * *

Jaune woke up in a cold sweat. It'd been a while since he'd had that dream. He shook his head and checked the clock on the wall opposite to his teammates' beds. It was 7:00 AM now, so he just decided to get up and get ready for the first day of classes.

Once showered and dressed, Jaune tried to decide the best way to wake his team up. He checked the clock again and saw it was almost eight. Eventually he just grabbed the digital clock that was on the nightstand and hit the alarm button. He ducked when a pillow shaped like a dog's face came flying at his head. He turned and saw Ruby sitting up, her eyes half closed as she yawned, "Jaune? What time is it?"

"Half past get up and get dressed, Crater Face. Classes start in an hour." He dodged another pillow before leaving the room so they could get ready.

* * *

Team JSPR and PLLN arrived at Prof. Port's class just as the bell rang and they took their seats. The professor drawled on for a good hour and most of the class just zoned out, except for Weiss who was _actually taking notes_. Ruby, on the other hand, passed the time goofing around. By the end of the lecture, she'd balanced several things on her finger, drawn a portrait of 'Professor Poop', and picked her nose. Jaune ignored it, seeing as how it _really_ pissed off Weiss.

"The moral of this story: A true huntsman must be honorable, dependable, strategic, well-educated, and wise. Who among you believes to be the embodiment of these traits?"

Jaune lazily raised his hand. Judging from the size of the cage that seemed to come out of nowhere, and the growls, it was probably a small beowolf or boarbudusk. Weiss also shot her hand up and shouted, "I do, sir!"

* * *

After Weiss angrily slaughtered the boarbudusk while shouting at Ruby, who was just cheering her on, she stormed out of the room and class was dismissed. Jaune quickly followed her, with Blake and a downcast Ruby close behind.

Jaune finally caught up with her and tried to defuse the situation. He tapped her on the shoulder and she spun around. "What?!"

"What's wrong with you, Weiss? No one did anything to bother you and you're acting like we ruined your life or something."

Weiss retorted, "That's just it, Arc! You've done nothing to show that you should be leader of this team. I've studied and trained for years and frankly, I deserve better." Jaune went dead silent, his expression one of silent anger and malevolency. What the hell did this spoiled bitch know about him? "Alright," He answered calmly, "If that's how you feel, fine. We can settle things after classes."

Weiss froze at the hidden venom in his words and Jaune's sudden dark expression, "W-what do you mean?" She managed, "Sparring match. After classes we'll go at it one on one. If you win, I'll forfeit command of the team...or whatever." He then walked away to their next class.

* * *

 **Chapter five, everyone.**

 **As always, feel free to leave reviews and check out my other stories!**

 **Fireballmonkey out.**


	6. Chapter 6

Jaune dodged under another lunge from Weiss, then side stepped as her momentum sent her body past him. She steadied herself right before Jaune planted his foot in her backside. She couldn't believe this. She and Jaune were engaged in combat for the leadership of their team and he was _playing_ with her. He hadn't even taken his hands out of his pockets. The boy just kept dodging all of her strikes, even when she used her glyphs.

"You're just embarrassing yourself at this point," Weiss heard the crinkling of plastic and turned to see that Jaune had taken out a sandwich, unwrapped it and started eating in the middle of the fight. He scrutinized her through narrowed eyes. "You seem... agitated." He threw the sandwich wrapper over his shoulder uncaringly. Weiss felt her eye twitch. "OF COURSE I AM! YOUR EATING IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATCH! ARE YOU INSANE!?"

Jaune took a few more bites before throwing the sandwich, it sailed in an arc over Weiss and landed straight in a trash can. He then shrugged and answered, "Who knows? I mean, people who are crazy usually don't think they're crazy, but if I know I'm crazy, then I'm not crazy. Isn't that crazy? Anyway, we should probably end this soon." He then cracked his knuckles and walked forward, the walk turned into a run, and soon he and Weiss were charging at each other.

Then, Jaune jumped forward, rearing his right fist back and then, at the last moment, ducking under another thrust from Myrtenaster and grabbing her wrist.

He spun into his momentum, bringing Weiss with him and sending her into the wall that elevated the bleachers from the floor... where Ruby and Blake sat, and were currently leaning over the wall to see if Weiss was alright. Jaune checked his scroll and checked the team's aura levels. All but Weiss were at 100%, the Schnee heiress's aura down to 35%.

He walked back over and offered her a hand. She took it and he hoisted her up. The blonde then started to leave the arena. In the rest of his teammates minds, however, they were wondering exactly what to make of their leader. At times, he seemed uncaring and aloof, kind of like Blake, and at others he seemed goofy, juvenile and, frankly, Nora-ish. They'd come to accept that the ginger's personality was its own adjective after only a couple of days... So many pancakes had been annihilated.

Anyway, Ruby super-speeded over to him in a flurry of rose petals. "Hey Jaune?"

"Yes, Ruby?

"Why'd you do that?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why mess with Weiss like that when you could've beaten her quicker."

Jaune stopped and stared at the ceiling for a moment in thought, "She needed to be brought down a peg. Teach someone a little humility and it'll do wonders." Ruby nodded in agreement, "So, now what?"

"How about some food?"

"Weren't you eating a sandwich during the fight?" Jaune just gave her a deadpan look. Another similarity to Nora: His appetite.

* * *

The team sat around a cafeteria table, Jaune inhaling a third bowl of ramen, Blake reading a book, Weiss trying to get over the fact that she'd lost the match to _Jaune_ and Ruby trying to break the silence. "So... Why don't we all get to know each other. You know, since were gonna be on a team for the next four years of our lives and all."

"Like, what, twenty questions or something?" Jaune asked. "Sure. I'm Ruby, I grew up on Patch with my sister and my dad. Oh, and my dog, Zwei. How about you, Jaune?"

"I lived outside the kingdoms, grew up with my uncle and now I'm here."

"Is that it?"

"Yup."

* * *

"Hey, Blake?"

"What is it, Ruby?"

"Well, what do you know about Jaune?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're his partner, and we don't really know much about him."

"No. He doesn't talk much. He's either training, eating or studying. Or out in the city doing who knows what."

It had been two weeks since Jaune and Weiss fought. Things had calmed down and their team had passed through classes and weekends boringly. "I'm also curious. Even in the last few days, he's been rather distant." Surprisingly, it was Weiss who spoke up. "Wait, where is he now?" Asked Ruby.

"He said something about going to Vale to check on something." Blake responded. "Maybe we should find out more ourselves." Ruby said. "What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"Well, Beacon's got a bunch of terminals and stuff. I'm sure we could find his student file or something."

"That seems like a violation of-wait, where are you going? Ruby Rose!" But Ruby had already sped out in a cloud of petals. Weiss soon chased after her and Blake, not wanting to be stuck cleaning up Ruby's trail, set down her book and followed. She caught up with Weiss and the two followed Ruby down to Beacon's library. More specifically, the computer terminals.

"Hey guys! I think I know how to find info about Jaune. I figure if we search his name into Schnee-gle, we'll find something sooner or later."

"Ruby, you can't just go digging into someone's personal life willy nilly. That's a huge violation of-"

"Found it! Alright, let's see...Jaune Arc, seventeen years old, six-foot-one, 163 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes, born in Helgen... Where's Helgen?" At that, Weiss fell silent. Blake and Ruby looked at her expectantly.

"Helgen was a village just outside of Atlas. It was considered still part of the kingdom, so the military was tasked with protecting it in case of a grimm attack. About ten years ago, the soldiers stationed there failed to give their weekly report. They sent a unit out to the village, only to find it burned to the ground, people dead in the streets. They chalked it up to a grimm attack, figured lanterns were nocked over and started the fire. But no signs or tracks were found. " The group got deathly quiet after that.

* * *

Jaune sat in the waiting room of Vale's Home For the Mentally Ill. He rested his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped in front of him. He could vaguely smell the fast food he'd picked up from the bag on the seat next to him. He raised his head when a nurse walked out and called his name. He rose and grabbed the food bag.

The boy walked down the hallway into the day room and looked through the window in the door to see a man in his forties with short brown facing away from him, sitting at one of the tables. He opened the door and the man turned to see him. He smiled kindly, his electric-blue eyes held a tired energy to them and he wore a beige trench coat over the garments the home provided for the patients. The man rose and pulled Jaune into a tight hug. "Hello, Jaune. It's...pleasing to see you again."

"You too, Cas." Castiel Angelus was on his father's huntsman team. When Jaune was four, He and his team were on a mission that went south. His father, Nicolas Arc and another teammate, Lukas Hemlock, were killed in action. Castiel, having watched two of his best friends be ripped apart in front of him, fell into insanity. Their other surviving teammate, who Jaune had never learned the name of, had vanished in the wind shortly after.

Cas had always been a gentler soul. Only slaying Grimm, but never killing people or animals. His broken mind had been improved after years in the institution. But, he'd always be that. Broken. When certain... Powerful undesirables tried to have him institutionalized in less-humane places where he could be watched closely and tested on due to his semblance, Professor Ozpin had helped keep Castiel here in Vale.

The two sat down and Jaune set the bag on the table between them. "I can't imagine what they consider food here." He took from the bag a cup with a plastic domed lid. Castiel put his hand up in decline. "Oh I don't do milkshakes. I've learned that they can attract large congregations of boys to one's yard." He leaned forward and said seriously, "I don't want the boys to come to my yard, Jaune."

"...Okay. So, what've you been up to, Cas?"

"Well, I've been spending a great deal of time in the gardens, watching the bees. Their patterns of flight vary wildly if one watches closely. Yet it's all planned, nothing ever needs changing. I've also been reading a great deal on biology. Did you know that a cat's penis is sharply barbed along its shaft? I know for a fact the females were _not_ consulted on that."

"...Interesting."

They went on like that until visiting hours were up. Jaune mostly just listened as Castiel talked of life on the inside and ate the food Jaune got him. Having a trusted friend the man could talk to seemed to help. Before he left, Cas asked him something. "Jaune, how old are you now? Specifically, to the date."

"Uh, seventeen years, nine months and...twelve days. Why?"

Cas quickly grabbed a pen and pad of paper off the reception desk and wrote something down. When finished, he tore the paper off and planted it in Jaune's hand. "You're old enough now. Go to this address and look for a man named Bobby singer. Professor Ozpin can tell you more."

"What? Cas, what are you talking about? Who's Bobby-"

"Just, please, trust me Jaune. I-I can't say anymore." And like that, the man was gone." A semblance like teleportation was a valuable thing. It was the reason many military leaders, scientists and politicians had tried to have the former huntsman confined and rehabilitated so they could try to send him back into the field. The boy held the paper in his hand and stared at the writing.

 _Bobby Singer_

 _676 Sioux Road, Vale_

Who the hell is Bobby Singer?

* * *

"Bobby Singer was the last member of your father's old team."

"What?!" Jaune was currently standing in Ozpin's office. Ozpin was still sitting in his large,... phallus-shaped chair. The boy was now pacing back and forth in front of his desk as he absorbed this new information. "So, he was there when..." He shook his head, "So why have I never heard of him?"

"Well, after your team's final mission, something snapped inside of Mr. Singer. Much like Castiel. He vanished for a time. He made no contact with anyone else, he has no remaining family, not many associates, he just left."

"Well, that explains why Cas was so...Cas about telling me about the guy. So, what do I do now? I've got an address, I can find him if this is where he still lives."

"I wouldn't recommend that, Jaune."

"Why not?" He demanded, "Cas clearly felt it important to tell me about him now that I was 'old enough'." Ozpin sighed. "Jaune, school hasn't even been in session for a month. You can't be leaving school grounds every chance you get. You came here to be a student. To learn. You can't do that here if you're leaving every chance you get. Not to mention the way you've been neglecting your team."

"Ozpin, I realize that. But this guy knew my father. Undoubtedly more than I knew about the guy. Not to mention he might know something that could help Cas." He started walking toward the elevator.

Ozpin pondered tat for a moment, "You may be right. But you should still take these things slow. You may not like all the answers you get."

"I'll be fine. Now, if you excuse me, I have some work to do." Jaune then entered the elevator and it closed behind him.


	7. Chapter 7

Jaune sat on the roof, waiting as the sun to drop down from the sky. He was currently staring at the paper Castiel had given him. The way Cas had acted at the end of their meeting was really bothering him. He saw the fear in his eyes, heard the anxiety as Cas spoke. Whoever Bobby Singer was, the two must not've parted on good terms.

He remembered what Ozpin had said, how he might not like the answers he gets. All in all, he couldn't give a damn. Jaune just wanted to know _something_. He recalled hearing about the effects missing children have. After years of not knowing, a parent can start to hope they're dead. They start to consider how long it had been, how the kid they'd raised might be a complete stranger. He guessed that having any form of closure was better than not knowing. The same went for this crap with Singer and his father.

He let out a long sigh. It was about high time he addressed the elephant on the roof. "I'm amazed at how quiet you can be in heels, Blake." He heard the less tentative steps as Blake walked up and stood behind him.

"Quite the view, isn't it?" He continued to stare at the sun, "Jaune, what are you-"

Jaune held a hand up to stop her, "Hold on. this is the best part." She stayed reluctantly silent and took a seat next to him. They watched as the upper rim of the sun sank below the horizon, and then a flash of green light shot up into the sky for only a second, then it was gone and the sky receded into a grey-black shade as night fell. "Wow."

"Right?" Jaune lied back and paths hands under his head as a cushion. "So, was there something you were gonna ask me, partner?"

Blake brought her legs up to her chest and rested her arms on her knees as she continued to stare at the spot where the green flash had been. "Jaune, why don't you tell us anything?"

"What do you mean?" The boy sat back up. "I mean that we hardly know anything about you."

"Well, there isn't much to tell."

Blake looked like she wanted to say something more, "Look up." She did, leaning back a bit and holding herself up with her arms. "They're stars."

"Yeah. I remember going out to my backyard and lying down, looking up at them. Sometimes my mom would be there, we'd try to come up with new constellations we'd see." He said with a chuckle. He pointed to the north star and moved it to the right, "If you look at the north star and follow the line of smaller stars there..." He traced a shape as Blake watched, "It looks like a boat."

He was right. It did look like a boat. "They never really change."

"What?"

"The stars. No matter where you go, you can look up at them and see the same ones. Especially out here where we're farther from the city. All the light pollution make's it harder to see." Blake didn't realize she was staring at her partner until she looked away and stared outward.

"Could you tell me something else? About your mother, I mean."

He paused for a moment, "She was the best. She somehow managed to balance taking care of me and my sisters along with working to feed us."

"How'd she manage that?" Blake asked curiously, "Oh, she wasn't alone. My dad died when I was four, and his dad, my grandfather, moved in with us to help out."

"The same guy that unlocked your semblance?" He nodded. "He'd take me fishing at a lake up near our village if the weather held."

"Do you still see them?" Jaune's smile fell. He didn't speak for a few seconds just staring out at the sky. "No." Blake thought of asking more, but decided to leave it for now. Jaune got up and stretched his back. "We should probably go back inside."

"Yeah." They left the roof and headed down the stairs to their floor. Once back in the dorm, Jaune didn't bother changing out of his jeans and hoodie, flopping into bed and falling asleep instantly. Then, Blake was left by herself, changing into her sleepwear and reading for a few minutes by candlelight. She couldn't, however, focus on the words or the story. Instead, her thoughts wandered to her partner. She was starting to see why he didn't talk about his family. If they had lived in Helgen, then they must not have made it out.

She set her book down and tried not to think about it anymore. Blake pushed any ideas about Jaune or Helgen to the back of her mind and laid her head down, trying to get some sleep.

* * *

Jaune got up and checked the clock on his scroll. He figured seven hours or so of sleep was enough for his team, so he grabbed the digital clock on the nightstand and set a five minute timer. The boy then took a quick shower and finished getting dressed just as the alarm went off, hearing a collection of groans from his team on the other side of the bathroom door.

"Good morning everyone!" He chirped before ducking under a dog shaped pillow. "Jaaaauune why?" Ruby asked under her covers. Jaune opened the curtains to the one window in their dorm and answered, "We're going to Vale!"

* * *

The female side of Team JSBR sat across from Jaune on the airship as he swallowed a motion sickness pill. He'd roughly filled them in on his plan to find this Bobby Singer guy and why he dragged them along.

 _"You guys want to learn more about me? Now you can."_

Ruby's body listed to the side and rested against Weiss's shoulder as she started to fall back asleep. The heiress flicked her forehead and she startled awake. "So Jaune, who told you about this man?" Weiss asked. "A friend of mine. He and Bobby Singer are the only surviving members of my dad's team."

"And this is the same man that was institutionalized?"

"Yep."

"So, you'll just trust the word of someone in a mental institution that another man lives alone and hasn't been heard from in years and has all the answers to the albeit hazy circumstances of the deaths of your father's team."

"Yep."

"And you wonder why we question your sanity."

"Of course." Jaune replied. That's when his scroll rang and he excused himself, moving to the back of the ship.

"This is Jaune."

"Oh, thank god. I thought I'd dialed the wrong number and was actually speaking to the prime minister of Mistral. Thank you, Jaune, for clearing that up." Said Paarthurnax.

"You're not growing cynical in your own age, are you?" Jaune asked.

"Ozpin told me you're tracking down Bobby Singer." Any light heartedness in his uncle's voice was gone and Jaune's smile disappeared. "And?"

" _And_ I wanted to know what you plan on doing once you find him."

"Ask him about my father, I guess." He heard Paarthurnax snort. "What?" He asked indignantly. "Have you even thought about why he went into hiding?"

"Of course I have." He had not. "Hmph. Just be careful. I'd hate to have another Mistrali Apartment Fire on our hands." Paarthurnax quipped.

"Screw you." He hung up and walked back over to his team. Ruby asked, "So, are you gonna let us in on your plan to find this guy, Jaune? Or are you gonna be weird and vague about it?"

"Yes."


End file.
